


Vinny Gets a Pet (or two)

by saltlicorice



Category: You Could Make a Life Series - Taylor Fitzpatrick
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-10
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-11-12 13:59:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltlicorice/pseuds/saltlicorice
Summary: “Our pets?” Anton asks. “I’m not sure what you mean by that.”“Our pets who will live in our house. I know I’ve insisted on keeping our separate houses, and that’s still something I need right now.” Anton nods and Thomas continues. “But in five years, I hope we will be living in our house with our pets.”“I, um, I definitely want that too,” Anton says, smiling softy. Even Thomas doesn’t get to see him smile like this often and he appreciates the sight. It’s like looking back in the net after a mad scramble, and seeing clean empty ice – a joy and a relief all at once.“So how would you feel about sharing our house with a pair of guinea pigs?” Thomas asks.





	Vinny Gets a Pet (or two)

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fun fic to write and made me love the YCMAL fandom more than I already did. 
> 
> To [adamburgandy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adamburgundy) \-- thank you for choosing my story and drawing [this heart-meltingly adorable artwork](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163123) to accompany it. Everyone, please go show this drawing some love. You need it in your lives.
> 
> To [smallmercies](http://archiveofourown.org/users/smallmercies/pseuds/smallmercies) \- thank you for the excellent beta reading, especially while you were in the middle of your own fic; this story would not be the same without you.
> 
> To [shearsys](http://shearsys.tumblr.com/) \- thank you for organising the mini-bang!
> 
> And to the Harry Terry group chat - thank you for being a joy and an inspiration and answering my YCMAL cannon questions.

Veronique has an email list for the parents of her goalies – and Thomas. She uses it to send out schedules and let them know about hockey events around Montreal that might interest them. Parents occasionally send emails to the list too, for stuff like arranging last minute carpools and checking who has food allergies before they bring surprise cupcakes to the rink. 

And then there’s the Who Wants a Guinea Pig (Or Two) email. That’s the actual subject line.

Last summer, Sam and I bought what we thought were two female guinea pigs for the kids. Fast forward a few months, and we have ten guinea pigs, an interesting biology lesson for our youngest, and a deep distrust of Pet Valu. (We should have known better than to drive to Ontario to get buy pets. From now on, we will only drive to Ontario to cheer on the Habs.)

That’s the first paragraph. The email continues with a plea for someone to adopt the eight babies, interspersed with pictures of cute furballs, cute kids cooing over the cute furballs, and harried parents pulling exaggerated faces. It concludes with a list of guinea pig care tips, such as piggies do better in pairs – we’re trying to adopt them out that way and guinea pigs can be spayed and neutered – we’ll take care of any you adopt from us, but you might appreciate that knowledge in the future.

Thomas is charmed and sympathetic, but he already decided that having a pet wasn’t really compatible with playing hockey professionally. Besides, the Gauthiers know lots of people with children, so they should have no problem finding four families looking for new pets.

 

He doesn’t think about it again until he sees Sam when she comes to pick up Florence from the next workshop Thomas attends. Florence is still on the ice with two other girls who had last minute questions for Veronique, so Thomas tells Sam that her daughter will be ready in a moment and asks if she and Milan found homes for all their baby guinea pigs. 

“All but two,” Sam replies, pulling out her phone. “So this one is really really shy,” she says, showing him a picture of a plump, sleek, calico guinea pig. “He won’t let anyone touch him. The rest of the pigs were a bit shy, but they let the kids pet them.”

“Aww. What’s his name?” Thomas asks. 

“We didn’t let the kids name the babies,” Sam replies, a bit sheepishly. “If they get names, we’re going to keep them, and we really don’t have space for four guineas.”

“Ah, no, that makes sense. Who else is left?”

Sam scrolls through her phone again. “This little guy just isn’t the cutest,” she says, and this second guinea pig is small, with thin, scraggly fur. “There’s nothing wrong with him – he’s not sick or anything, but everyone wanted the fluffy ones.”

“He’s cute too,” Thomas says reflexively. “Weird-looking can be cute. Someone will definitely want him.”

“Hopefully,” Sam sighs. “They’re our odd couple at this point.”

Florence runs over then, still halfway in her pads, and Thomas says goodbye to both of them.

 

“You’ve been quiet today,” Anton says. They’re getting ready for bed, moving around each other in Anton’s en suite bathroom.

“I’ve just been thinking,” Thomas replies, humming around his toothbrush.

“Yeah? Want to talk about it?”

“So I know we talked about adopting a dog,” Thomas starts. Honestly, _Thomas_ talked about adopting a dog while Anton listened, until he had talked himself around to realizing it was a bad idea. Anton reminds him of that every time they meet a dog. All of the Habs remind him when they do team events with puppies.

“I still don’t think I should get a dog right now,” he continues, “but a guinea pig – or a pair of guinea pigs – could work with our schedule.”

Anton is quiet for a moment. “I’m not disagreeing,” he says, “but this seems kind of sudden and really specific. Why are you thinking about guinea pigs today?”

Thomas tells him about Florence and Sam and the unadopted guinea pigs. By the time he’s finished, they’re curled up together in Anton’s bed. “It’s just something I’m thinking about,” Thomas says.

“You’re thinking about it a lot,” Anton says, running a hand through Thomas’s hair.

Thomas nods against Anton’s chest.

“Alright, I’m not saying this is what you’re thinking, or all of what you’re thinking,” Anton says softly, “but is this about you feeling bad for two animals who don’t have a permanent home yet?

“Oh that’s definitely part of it.” Thomas props himself up on an elbow so he can look at Anton properly. “It’s not all of it, though. I know me kidnapping a puppy is basically a joke at this point, but I’ve missed having pets since I moved to the Soo and I really would like to have someone to come home to.” 

Anton’s wince is so quick, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it quick, that Thomas wouldn’t have noticed if he wasn’t watching. “Sorry, that came out wrong,” he says.

“No, it’s alright,” Anton says. “It’s okay to want a pet there at your house when you…” He stops talking and only glares a bit as Thomas puts a hand over his mouth.

“That’s not what I meant,” Thomas says. “You are not getting usurped in my heart. Especially not by a guinea pig.” 

Anton is almost smiling when Thomas takes his hand away. “So what _did_ you mean?”

Thomas thinks about how to explain it. “Animals are easy,” he finally says. “You’re nice to them and you love them and they love you back. Sometimes – it’s not that they’re better than people – but it’s nice to have both. You’re wonderful, but we’re complicated...”

Anton nods as Thomas trails off, and Thomas thinks he gets it. Once, when they had visited Hartford, Tonya had shown Thomas an album full of pictures of Anton as a grade schooler. Several of the pictures featured a large ginger cat. “He was a neighborhood cat, but he was also Anton’s cat,” Tonya had said. “I’m not sure if Anton loved that cat more because the cat loved him or because the cat hated everyone else.”

“Complicated isn’t bad,” Thomas says.

“No, but easy isn’t either. Like you said, you can have both,” Anton says. “I think that you should think more about it before you actually adopt them, but it doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”

“ _We_ should think more about it.” 

“You’d be the one adopting them, Vin,” Anton says, voice soft. “It’s your decision in the end.”

“Guinea pigs live a long time. Well, not a long, long time, but like five or six years, sometimes eight,” Thomas says. They haven’t talked about where they’ll be in five years, haven’t even talked about where they’ll be in one year. For all that they feel rock solid most days, Thomas sometimes wonders if they’re more of a snowpack than a rock, ready to become an avalanche at the slightest misstep.

“It sounds like you’re saying that my opinion on your pets might matter more in five years,” Anton says slowly.

Thomas takes a deep breath. “I hope that in five years they’d be our pets.”

“Our pets?” Anton asks. “I’m not sure what you mean by that.”

“Our pets who will live in our house. I know I’ve insisted on keeping our separate houses, and that’s still something I need right now.” Anton nods and Thomas continues. “But in five years, I hope we will be living in our house with our pets.”

“I, um, I definitely want that too,” Anton says, smiling softy. Even Thomas doesn’t get to see him smile like this often and he appreciates the sight. It’s like looking back in the net after a mad scramble, and seeing clean empty ice – a joy and a relief all at once.

“So how would you feel about sharing our house with a pair of guinea pigs?” Thomas asks.

“I’d be alright with that,” Anton says.

“Really?” Thomas asks, not sure whether or not he’s surprised.

“They’re small and quiet and they’d make you smile,” Anton explains.

Later, Thomas will have to push on that a bit, make sure Anton actually wants the guinea pigs, but right now he wants to bask in this rare sappiness.

He leans down and kisses Anton for a long moment before draping himself over Anton’s chest and tucking his nose into his neck.

“Ugh, Vin, you’re like an electric blanket, except your nose is freezing,” Anton says. 

Anton has one arm wrapped around his waist and the other buried in his hair, so Thomas doesn’t bother replying, just drifts off to sleep like that.

 

Anton was expecting to like the guinea pigs, mostly because he wants to like them for Thomas’s sake. He wasn’t expecting to be utterly charmed by them. He doesn’t plan to tell Thomas that, especially because he’s still not sure _why_ he’s so charmed by them.

Thomas, naturally, is determined to make Anton admit he loved the little critters, and in Anton’s resolve to admit no such thing, he makes the worst subject change possible while Thomas is driving them back to his house after they visit the guinea pigs.

“We haven’t talked about moving back in together again,” Anton says, and immediately wants to bite his tongue.

“We should absolutely talk about it more,” Thomas says. “What are you thinking? What do you want to do?”

If he’s being completely honest, Anton wants Thomas to move back into their house today, but he can’t say that. What he can say is, “I just want to make you happy, but I’m not sure how to do that.” That’s just as true, and it won’t scare Thomas off.

“You are very sweet,” Thomas says, leaning over the console at a red light to quickly press his lips to Anton’s. “But how about you trust me to tell you what I want?”

Anton flushes, feeling hot and embarrassed, because this is how he keeps fucking things up, guessing what Thomas wants, and guessing wrong.

Thomas glances over at him, thankfully not taking his eyes fully off the road. “You do an excellent job of making me happy. I’m just saying that if you’re ever wondering what I want, you can just ask me.”

“Yeah?” Anton asks, still feeling off balance. “What do you want?”

“I want us to move back in together. Not right now, but soonish. Maybe during the offseason, if that’s something you want.” Thomas grins. “See, that wasn’t so hard.” His grin is almost a smirk, but Anton’s too relieved to be put out.

“Now, what do you want?” Thomas asks. “You can’t just say whatever I want. That’s cheating.”

Anton wants to tell Thomas that he doesn’t get to make the rules, but Thomas is making an effort to have a serious conversation and it’s a conversation Anton wants to have, even if he’s – well he’s not sure what he’s feeling, and he’s certainly not going to call it fear. Maybe it’s a bit of nerves, but that’s just because he cares so much about what Thomas thinks, not because he’s scared. 

Besides, he’s not used to discussing things like this, but he’s slowly getting used to it with Thomas, discussing things like sex, and now, apparently, living arrangements, and it’s been alright so far.

“I _do_ want what you want,” Anton says, then holds up a hand before Thomas can protest. “I also want,” he starts, and he almost stops, but Thomas is already smiling, as though Anton wanting something makes him happy. “I’d like for us to move back in together in our house, or my house, or however you’re thinking about it. We picked it out together and I think you liked it too, but if you want us to move into your house or find a new house, that’s fine too.”

“I like your house a lot, or our house,” Thomas says, still smiling. “Is that how you think of it?”

Anton’s pretty sure he’s bright red again, but he doesn’t mind quite as much this time. “We chose it together, didn’t we?”

“We did.” Thomas reaches over to grab his hand. Anton suppresses his grimace at Thomas taking his attention off the road.

“I can concentrate on you _and_ the road,” Thomas says, rolling his eyes and squeezing Anton’s hand. Anton doesn’t reply beyond squeezing back.

“I like the house a lot too,” Thomas says, picking the conversation back up. “And I would be delighted to move back in.”

“You would?” Anton asks, and he knows he sounds surprised. Thomas’s new house is as sunny as he is, and it’s obvious that he loves it.

“I’m not sure that I think of it as _our_ house the same way you do,” Thomas says, and wow, that stings a bit. “I like it a lot though, and that’s always been where I pictured we’d move back in together.”

“It is?” Anton hadn’t realized Thomas had been thinking about them moving back in together enough to imagine where they’d live.

“Maybe I’m just being lazy because that’s the only place we’ve lived together before,” Thomas says, and Anton feels himself grimace. “I don’t think so though,” Thomas continues. “I think it’s a place we chose together and I really like that.”

“I do too,” Anton replies, and tries not to cringe as Thomas tugs him in for a kiss again. He reminds himself that they’re stopped at a red light and that Thomas is a responsible driver who will put both hands back on the steering wheel before he starts driving again. 

Thomas laughs and turns back to the road as the light turns green. 

“We’re keeping your couch,” Anton says, then after a moment, “Obviously we’re keeping whatever you want to keep, but that has to include your couch.”

“I like the snuggle couch too. We’re definitely keeping it.” Anton would object to the name, but he’s been calling it the make-out couch in his head and he’s pretty sure that’s worse. 

“We’ll figure it out,” Thomas says, and Anton’s pretty sure he’s talking about more than furniture arrangements. 

“Yeah,” he replies. “We will.”

 

Thomas is pretty sure Anton got the idea from Sandro, or at least from that competitive, possessive side of himself that Sandro never fails to unlock. Another time, Thomas might tease Anton about it, remind him that picking possessive fights over Thomas isn’t actually a good thing, even if it can be endearing.

He ignores the petty possessiveness in favor of Anton’s actual idea, because Anton just looked up from his tray of eggs and toast and suggested they move Flounder and Sebastian to his house.

“It’s just a thought,” Anton says, “but if you want to build one of those giant playground cages you and Carmen were talking about, we could build it here and then we wouldn’t have to take it apart and move it this summer. And that might be easier on Sebastian. Or we could build a cage here and keep the guinea pigs at your house until you move…”

“I like the idea of them living here,” Thomas says, setting down his fork and cutting Anton off, because he was almost babbling, like he only does when he’s nervous. That’s been an adjustment for Thomas, realizing that Anton, who throws himself in front of one-timers and makes a point of not appearing to care what anyone thinks, that same Anton gets nervous around Thomas. “And I definitely want to build them a playground cage.”

“You wouldn’t mind having them over here?” 

“They’re our guinea pigs and this is going to be our house,” Thomas says, and Anton smiles, but it morphs to a scowl when Thomas steals a piece of bacon from his tray. Thomas laughs at him and continues, “You’re probably right about it being easier on Sebastian. Flounder too. Besides, I spend as much time here as I do at my house.”

That’s not strictly true anymore – ever since they brought Sebastian and Flounder back to Thomas’s house, they’ve both been spending more time there – this morning an exception after they had gotten back from a road trip so late it was early, and Thomas’s neighbor’s kids had been allowed to sleep over with the guinea pigs they had been taking care of for the last week. He’s sure that as soon as they move the piggies, they’ll both start spending more time at Anton’s house. He wouldn’t mind that though. More and more, Anton’s house has been feeling like _their_ house, more than it did when Thomas actually lived there.

Anton’s smiling again. “Did you have an idea for the cage?” Thomas asks him.

Anton reaches over to the counter for his phone and pulls up a picture, handing it across the table. Thomas looks at the picture and bites back a laugh, because it’s easily three times bigger than any of the cages Thomas had made Anton look at while he was Skyping with Sandro the last time they were home. It’s also kind of perfect.

“It looks like a castle,” Thomas says.

Anton flushes, scowling again, and taking a long sip of orange juice. “You’re the one who named them after Disney Princess characters.”

“That wasn’t a criticism. I love it,” Thomas says, deciding not to mention that it will almost certainly require power tools to build, power tools that neither he nor Anton have used before. Veronique built her bookshelves and coffee table from scrap wood, and she’d probably be happy to help them put a cage together.

“Where are we putting it?” Thomas asks.

“That weird study room we don’t use?” Anton suggests, obviously thinking out loud. “Or would they get lonely in there? We’re still not going to like it even if we put the guinea pigs in there. Maybe the living room? We could move some of the shelves to the study and put the cage along the far wall.”

Thomas doesn’t comment on Anton’s irrational dislike of the study, which he’s pretty sure stems from its superficial similarities to his father’s study. If they put the castle cage in there, it will look even more like the show-off room and Anton may refuse to set foot inside altogether.

“They could watch movies with us in the living room,” Thomas says brightly.

“I’m putting a limit on how many times you get to use this as an excuse to make us watch _The Little Mermaid_ ,” Anton says.

“We have to introduce them to their namesakes,” Thomas says, even though they’ve technically already been introduced twice.

“I’m regretting this already.” Anton stands up. “Come on, we should get ready for practice.” 

The kiss Anton pulls him into while they’re loading their dishes into the dishwasher says he doesn’t really regret anything.

 

The locker room is loud and happy with a shutout against the Leafs three games into a new season, but Anton tunes out the cheers and backslaps in favor of zeroing in on Thomas. Compared to their teammates, he’s calm and quiet, stripping out of pads that probably aren’t even sweaty, after sixty minutes sitting on the bench. When Anton makes his way over, Grayson is organizing everyone to go out and celebrate.

Thomas looks conflicted, like he doesn’t want to go, but doesn’t want to say no. Anton had assured him that his feelings about Conner’s successes were perfectly reasonable, even charitable, after Thomas had haltingly described them as a complicated mix of wanting to be happy for the team, but not succeeding because of Conners, and wanting to be unhappy with Conners, but not succeeding because of the team. Anton thinks that’s a perfectly valid reason to skip out on celebrating Conners’ shutout, but he knows Thomas feels guilty about it.

He muscles his way into Thomas’s space and Thomas throws an arm around his shoulders. “Great shot-blocking tonight,” Thomas nearly yells, finally looking happy. 

“Thank you,” Anton replies.

“So are you coming out with us?” Grayson asks them.

“Honestly, I’m kind of tired,” Anton says.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Thomas asks.

“No, just…” Anton trails off, knowing better than to say he doesn’t feel like toasting his least favorite teammate.

“A quiet night would be better?” Thomas asks. Anton nods.

“We’ll join you guys next time,” Thomas tells Grayson.

 

“Thank you,” Thomas says later, apropos of nothing, when they’re curled up on their favorite couch, with _Moana_ playing quietly.

“You’re welcome?” Anton ventures.

“You’re not tired,” Thomas says. 

Anton takes a moment to parse that. “This is better though, isn’t it?” 

“It is,” Thomas says, smiling soft and sunny, which is of course when Flounder breaks the moment by whistling.

“You think it’s better too?” Thomas asks, lifting Flounder off his lap and carefully holding him at eye level. Flounder squeals and squirms onto Thomas’s shoulder. Thomas giggles when Flounder noses at his ear, before lifting Flounder back down and looking down at the towel covered lump on Anton’s lap.

“You like this too, Sebastian?” he asks.

Sebastian, predictably, doesn’t respond.

“Aww, it’s okay, you don’t have to say anything, Sebastian,” Thomas says. “We know you like it better when Anton’s lap is here.”

Anton groans. “Why do you have to make it sound so weird?” 

“It’s not weird. It’s sweet,” Thomas says, with that breezy tone that means he know exactly how weird it sounds, but will happily run Anton in conversational circles making him explain the weirdness.

“You have a very good lap and Sebastian agrees with me,” Thomas continues. “Your lap is our favorite.”

“Stop,” Anton says, kissing Thomas softly, careful not to jostle Sebastian or Flounder.  
Thomas holds him there with a hand on the back of his neck until Flounder crawls restlessly off his lap.

“Oh, you want to run around now?” Thomas scoops Flounder up and carries him over to their cage. Flounder starts popcorning as soon as Thomas puts him inside. 

Sebastian stirs in interest. “You want to play too?” Anton asks, picking Sebastian up and scowling at Thomas before he decides to coo over Anton talking to Sebastian.

Thomas just widens his eyes and raises his eyebrows as Anton sets Sebastian down, then laughs when Flounder races over to Sebastian and they both take off bouncing around each other.

Anton steps behind Thomas, wraps both arms around his stomach. Thomas leans back against him as they watch Sebastian and Flounder.

“I love you,” Thomas says.

“I love you too,” Anton replies, thinking suddenly of the car ride half a year ago when Thomas had asked what he wanted. _This_ , Anton wants to say. _This is what I want._

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](https://love-your-goalie.tumblr.com) and scream about women's hockey with me!
> 
> And one more reminder -- the accompanying artwork is [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11163123)!


End file.
